Pump anchor structure



Aug. 3, 1937. E. w. OSTROM ET AL 2,088,971

PUMP ANCHOR STRUCTURE Filed March 16, 1936 Patented Aug. 3, 1937 PATENT OFFICE PUMP ANCHOR STRUCTURE Ernest W. Ostrom, Pasadena, and Glynn H. Williams, Huntington Park, Calif., assignors to Axelson ,Manufacturing 00., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application March 16, 1936, Serial No; 69,086

Claims (01. 1os 1s1) This invention relates to well equipment, and particularly to the construction of anchors for supporting pumps in wells.

A broad object of the invention'is to simplify '5 the construction of pump anchors andincrease their efl'iciencyr 1 Othermore specific objects, together with various features of the invention, will be disclosedin the detailed description of the invention which 10 follows;

Pump anchoring structures of the general types to whichthis invention relate have two general f-unctions-toperform: r j

(1) to detachably retain the pump in the 'desired position in the tube'yand (2) to effect a seal between the pump and tubing so that pumped fluid will not return past the pump.- I A r Heretofore it has been the common practice to provide a seat in the tubing and a cooperati-ngseaton the pump which rests on the tubing seat thereby preventing downward movement of thepump and at the same time sealing about the pump. To prevent upward movement of the pump-away: from the seat, it was customary to provide a; separate spring latch for 'releasably 1 looking the pumpdown against its seat.

In accordancewith the present inventionywe provide an anchor construction in which the tubing-seat and locking member are formed in one piece; which is clamped in the tubing, thereby producing-a structure which-issimple, inexpensive, easy to install and remove, and at the 4 same time is very effective in use. 3'5 Inthe drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational View, partly in section, showing a pump and. tubing incorporating I an'anchoringzstructure in accordance'with the invention; v I gb Fig.2 is an enlarged detailsectional view of the anchoring structure disclosed in Fig. 1;

r Fig; 3 is 'a cross, section taken in the plane III- 11101 Fig.1; Fig. 4. is a partial view similar to Fig. 1, showingcertain modifications of the structure depicted in Figl; and V Fig. 5 isa cross section taken in the plane V--V ofFigA: I. I

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a pump comprising abarrel I positioned within a section of tubing 2, "the upper portion of which is perforated 1 to permitentry of oilfrom the surrounding sands. The tubing I'is closed at thelowerend by a cap 055 .6 and'wconstitutes a sand trap, the functions of which are well known to those skilled in the art.

The upper end of the tubing 2 is screwed into the lower endof an anchor-supporting coupling member I and a secondanchor-supporting coupling member 8 is screwed into the upper end of the member I. The member 8 is internally threaded at the upper end to receive the lower end of a string of tubing which is adapted to extend upwardly through the well to the surface. A rod guide 9 is secured to the upper end of the pump barrel I and servesto guide a pump rod III, which isto beconnected by an adapter I (la tothe lower end of a string of sucker rods extending through the tubing to the surface. The rod I0 is connected to a plunger within the barrel. However, the internal construction of the pump constitutes no part of the present invention and is therefore not disclosed.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be observed that the upper end of the pump barrel is screwed onto a collar II which in turn is secured at its upper end by screw threads to the lower end of a tubular supporting member I2. The rod guide 9 in turn is secured by screw'threads to the upper end of the member I2.

The member I2 functions not only as a connectingmember between the collar II and the 1 rod guide 9 but also as a support for the entire pump barrel. To this end the member I2 is enlarged adjacent its upper end, to define an annular tapered shoulder I3 which rests against and seals with an anchor ring I4 which in turn is secured in the tubing by being clamped between the coupling members I and 8, respectively. The ring I4 is provided with a beveled edge l3 which seals with the shoulder I3 on the tubular member I2. The ring I4 is provided with a narrow (in a radial direction) outwardly extending fi'ange I5 which fits snugly within the upper end of the coupling member 1 but rests against and. is supported vertically by a shoulder I6 in the coupling member 1. Thus the latter is of smaller internal diameter below the shoulder I5 than at the threaded upper end. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the lower end of the upper coupling memher 8, whenthe latter is screwed into the lower coupling member I, bears against the top of the ring I4 and locks it tightly against the shoulder IE on the member I. The upper end of the ring I4 and the under edge of the flange I5 thereon are ground smooth to form fluid-tight seals with .the coupling members 8 and 1, respectively, so

that there can be no leakage of fluid around the ring l4. It. is understood of course that the seating surfaces 13 and l3 are likewise ground smooth to eifect a fluid-tight seal.

To normally secure the pump against its seat, there are provided hold-down fingers I1 on the ring l4, these fingers being formed integrally with the ring and extending downwardly and inwardly therefrom. The lower ends of these fingers H are beveled as shown at I8 and, when the pump is installed, bear against an annular shoulder I9 thereon, which shoulder may be constituted by the lower wall of an annular recess 20 cut in the tubular member l2. By virtue of the bevel ends [8 the fingers Il may be urged outwardly by placing sufficient lifting strain on the tubular member I 2, thereby permitting removal of the pump from the tubing without pulling the tubing. However, the tension of the fingers I1 is sufiicient to hold the pump in place during all ordinary pumping operations.

As shown in Fig. 1, the annular shoulder l3 of the pump is positioned closely adjacent the upper end thereof. Likewise the fingers I1, being formed integrally with the ring M, are closely adjacent to the seat I5 so that the pump is supported at two closely spaced points positioned adjacent the upper end of the pump. For all practical purposes, the pump may therefore be considered to be suspendedfrom its upper end. This permits the pump to readily align itself with the pump rod l0 and also prevents sand from packing about the pump barrel, which would interfere with removal of the pump.

A particular advantage of the invention results from the fact that the ring l4, bearing the seat l5 and the hold-down fingers ll, are constituted by a single element which is anchored to the tubing by being clamped between the coupling members I and 8.

Another advantage of the structure described is that the ring member M has no threads thereon. This is advantageous by virtue of the fact that it is desirable to harden the seat l5, and diificulty is often encountered in hardening an element having screw threads thereon because the hardening treatment often distorts the threads.

The structure disclosed in Figs. 4 and 5 is similar in all respects to that already described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 except for the construction of the tubing 2 and the mode of attaching it to the coupling member 8'.

Thus in Figs. 4 and 5 the tubing 2 is internally threaded at the upper end, as shown at 30, and screws directly onto the lower end of coupling member 8, thereby eliminating the coupling member I of Figs. 1 and 2. This construction permits the tubing 2 of Fig. 4 to have a larger diameter than the tubing 2 of Fig. 1, thereby providing more space for fluid between the tubing and the pump barrel. However, this increased spacing between the pump barrel and tubing might permit rocking or swinging movement of the barrel on its seat in excess of that necessary for proper alinement, and it is therefore desirable to provide guides in the tubing 2' adjacent to but above the lower end of the pump barrel. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, these guides 3| are four in number and consist of lugs which may either be formed integrally with, or welded to, the tubing 2. The radial dimensions of the lugs are such as to permit a limited lateral movement of the pump barrel I, therebetween.

The invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, which have been found satisfactory in service. It is obvious, however, that various changes can be made from the particular structures shown in the drawing without departing from the invention, and the latter is therefore to be limited only as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a. pump structure adapted to be inserted in tubing in a well, an annular ring member adapted to be mounted in the tubing, said member projecting inwardly beyond the inner circumference of the tubing and having a seating surface at its inner upper edge and having a plurality of resilient fingers formed integrally therewith and extending downwardly and inwardly therefrom, a tubular pump barrel having a lower portion dimensioned to pass through said ring member and having a beveled outwardly extending annular shoulder above said lower portion adapted to engage and rest upon the seating surface of said ring member and said barrel member also having a second beveled shoulder thereon so positioned below said first mentioned shoulder as to be engaged by the ends of said fingers when said first shoulder is seated against said annular ring.

2. A pump constructed as described in claim 1, in which said shoulders on said pump barrel are positioned closely adjacent the upper ends thereof whereby said barrel member is substantially freely suspended in the tubing from its upper end and is thereby relieved of compressive and bending strains.

3. An anchor structure for insertion in well tubing to support a pump provided with a seating shoulder and an annular shoulder therebelow for receiving resilient hold-down fingers, said anchor structure comprising a pair of coupling members adapted to be joined together and inserted in a tubing string, one of said members being threaded internally at one end and having an inwardly extending annular shoulder below said internally threaded portion and the other member having an externally threaded end portion of reduced diameter adapted to screw into the internally threaded end portion of the first member, and a pump-engaging member comprising a ring adapted to fit within the said first coupling member and having an external flange thereon adapted to be clamped between said shoulder on said one coupling member and the end of the other coupling member when the coupling members are screwed together, said ring defining at its upper inner edge a pump-engaging seat and having formed integrally therewith, downwardly and inwardly extending hold-down fingers for engaging a pump below but closely adjacent the seat thereon.

4. An anchor structure for insertion in well tubing to support and enclose a pump provided with a seating shoulder and an annular groove therebelow for receiving resilient hold-down fingers, said anchor structure comprising a coupling member adapted to be attached to the lower end of a tubing string, said member being externally threaded at the lower end and the lower end defining a shoulder, a tubing section adapted to enclose a pump, the upper end of said section being internally threaded and having an inwardly extending annular shoulder at the base of the threaded portion, a pump engaging member comprising a ring adapted to fit within the upper end of said tubing section and having an external fiange thereon adapted to be clamped between said annular shoulder on said tubing section and the lower end of said coupling member when'the tubing section and coupling member are screwed together, said ring defining at its upper inner edge a pump engaging seat and having formed integrally therewith downwardly and inwardly extending hold-down fingers for engaging the annular shoulder on the pump below the seating shoulder thereon,

5. An anchoring structure for insertionin well tubing to support a pump provided with a seating shoulder and an annular shoulder therebelow for receiving resilient hold-down fingers, said anchor structure comprising a pair of coupling members adapted to be joined together and attached to a well tubing string, a ring having a pump-supporting seating surface at its upper end and having formed integrally therewith downwardly and inwardly extending hold-down fingers for engaging the annular shoulder on the pump below the seating shoulder thereon, said coupling members being adapted to clamp and support said 

